"How is she doing?" Seraph stood in the corridor outside of Esper's rooms.       "She is sleeping for now." Ronnie stared down at the male in front of her. "What the hell was that back there? You just rescued her from one hell, why throw her into another?"      "That wasn't the way I wanted Esper to learn about who she was." Loose strands of Seraph's hair covered his eyes as he cast his gaze downwards. "I wanted to ease her into the truth."      "What exactly is this 'truth' that you keep talking about?" After all the crazy shit her family had been put through, Ronnie wanted some answers. "And don't try to feed me the 'it's complicated' line because that is a piss poor excuse."      Letting out a sigh, Seraph rubbed his brow. "Esper's entire existence is complicated."      "Try me," Ronnie huffed.&nbs

"Are you sure," Ronnie asked hesitantly. "Yes." Esper stared in the mirror and picked up one of her long locks. "It was one of the things Maxim was obsessed with. I want it gone." "Well," Ronnie sucked in a breath. "Here goes nothing." Ronnie picked up the scissors off of her boudoir and took a deep breath. She let out a nervous whimper as she took the first snip of Esper's hair. The strand fell to the ground and coiled up like a lone snake. The lock was soon joined by its siblings as Ronnie took more confident cuts. When she finished, Ronnie brushed the stray strands from Esper's shoulders and then turned her towards the mirror. "What do you think?" Esper sucked in a deep breath and looked into the mirror. Her once waist-long locks were now well above her shoulders in a shaggy bob and bangs. It was the first time since she was a small child that Esper had short hair. It was a lot to take in, but it was also freeing. A weight had been lifted from her shoulders,

    Esper felt something nudging at her shoulder. Not quite ready to wake, she slapped at the annoyance. Her hand was met by a solid thud and thick fur. She opened her eyes and was met by the crystal blue stare of the stag. The animal was clearly not amused with Esper and huffed in her face.      “I’m so sorry, boy. I forgot that I fell asleep out here.” Esper pet the stag’s forehead. She looked up at the sky and saw the moon was still out. Even if it had only been for an hour or two, Esper felt well rested after the nap.      “Think you can help me find my way back?” The stag nodded in response to Esper’s request.      Pushing herself up from the ground, Esper stood and let out a stretch. She was about to walk out the door, but something tugged at her sleeve. The young woman turned around and saw the stag kneeling before her

     Esper's breath was heavy and panicked as she ran through the dark woods. She paused momentarily to gain her bearings but started running once more when she heard Maxim's laughter echo throughout the forest. Esper needed to get as far away as possible. She would not be caught by him again.      The vine-covered hideaway was within her eyesight when Esper felt someone tackle her to the ground. The attacker flipped her around, and she was forced to face Maxim.      "I finally found you, Kitten." The crazed glow ran rampant in Maxim's eyes as his gaze bored into Esper. "And now I'm coming for you."       Maxim bared his fangs and bit down on to Esper's shoulder.       Esper awoke with a scream. She ripped away the bedding and frantically ran down the breezeway towards Seraph's bed chambers. Her cries echoed througho

     "SERAPH!" Esper let out a blood-curdling scream as she watched her mate crumple to the ground.     Becoming overwhelmed with a blinding rage, Esper pushed herself off the ground. Her breathing was erratic, and her body shook with uncontrollable anger. Lucien had just killed her mate, and she was going to make him pay. In a mad flurry, she charged at Lucien. The white-haired male smirked and back-handed her as if Esper was nothing but a fly, sending her tumbling across the ground. She stood up on shaky legs and let out a frustrated roar before rushing him again.     Much to Lucien's amusement, Esper came at him head-on. He was almost within her grasp when Lucien kicked her in the ribs. His leg collided into her side with a tremendous force and sent her flying through the air. Her body crashed into one of the murals, the painted stone crumbling around her.    &nbs